Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Icing Weather Research

The Federal Aviation Administration identifies aircraft icing as a significant safety risk to the national airspace system. As a result, there are FAA-funded research activities in support of aircraft icing. FAA Aviation Safety supports the Aviation Research Division Aircraft Icing Program that performs research related to ground icing and structural in-flight icing and engine ice crystal icing. The FAA Aviation Weather Division Aviation Weather Research Program (AWRP), with support from the Aviation Research Division, performs research related to icing weather. The icing weather research is focused on three projects: In-Flight Icing (IFI), Terminal Area Icing Weather Information for NextGen (TAIWIN), and High Ice Water Content (HIWC). Each of these projects is researching and developing various icing weather tools that aid in the diagnosis and forecasting of icing conditions. The IFI project is focused on en-route, national-scale products that indicate areas of small- and large-drop icing environments as well as icing severity and probability. The TAIWIN project is focused on developing a diagnosis and forecasting capability that indicates areas of small- and large-drop environments at higher temporal and spatial resolutions for the three-dimensional terminal airspace (currently defined as a 30 nautical mile radius around an airport, up to 10000 feet). The HIWC project is focused on the identification of high altitude ice crystal icing environments associated with convective weather on a regional scale.

These icing projects coordinate with one another and collaborate when applicable. There is also a coordinated effort with other research projects within AWRP and across the FAA to leverage other activities that benefit icing research. Examples include coordination with the Model Development and Enhancement project for numerical weather prediction model improvements and the Advanced Weather Radar Techniques project for radar improvements. This presentation will describe the FAA icing weather tool research supported by the FAA AWRP icing projects.

This research is in response to requirements and funding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the FAA.